Motortruck Fleet Executive editor Carolyn Gruske filed this report from Saturday night’s Driver Awards banquet, hosted by several companies in the region, including Erb Transport, Home Hardware and the Rothsay division of Darling International. You can click on the above link for the full list of winners, who collectively racked up 230 years of collision-free driving.

Don Danbrook, driver awards committee member, said the goal in Ontario should be for zero truck-related fatalities. Is it a reasonable goal to pursue? He thinks so.

“The question is: is it an impossible goal? I would say if you asked that question even 10 years ago, a lot of people would have said, ‘that will never happen.’ But you know what, over the years – and I’ve worked in the industry for a lot of years, including in the injury-prevention side as well – and every year you’re seeing more and more companies and organizations, and not just in Ontario, but across the countryside, that are achieving some of these very lofty goals, in all modes of industry, so the goal can be achieved. It doesn’t just happen by chance. It’s planned and it’s organized and it happens as a result of much time and effort from everyone. Better new work orientation, better specialized training, better equipment and most of all, a greater commitment towards creating a safer work environment by everyone. No one wants to be a statistic. Everyone wants to be a winner, and everyone wants to work for a winner. So to be a winner and work on a winning team, it takes effort and commitment from all of us, because we all have a part to play on that road to zero.”